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5 Ways To Make Your Home Sell Faster [Or Happier To Live In]

“This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Rubbermaid, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #FastTrack http://my-disclosur.es/RgFrEH”

Recently the thought of selling our home and purchasing another one has been brewing in our little brains over here. I always thought I would move every 2 years and well, 7 years later here I am. Fortunately we do really enjoy the home we live in and don’t have a lot of “we must sell this house now” type of thoughts or stresses, however when the time comes and we find something else we are ready to move into, we want this baby sold. And quick. Being a former Realtor, the process of buying and selling a home is really quite enjoyable. I love looking at another house that somebody has created into their own space and envisioning how I can make it my own. Given my past [and current situation] I have come across a few things that I notice when looking at other homes that make me fall a little more in love with the idea of living in that space. Whether or not you are looking to sell, these items will make you enjoy living in any home a tad bit more.

This covers a lot of different areas–but first of all, the overall cleanliness. Obviously a huge factor when trying to sell. But there is more to it than that–so your floors are swept and your bed is made, what about the oven knobs and pantry closets? People look at that stuff. Taking the extra time to scrub every visible and non-visible surface will be a huge advantage when somebody looks at your home. Another detail to note is your personal decor–keep a bit of your own style when selling your home, however keep it rather in-personable as well. Try to remove as many personal pictures as possible. Too many personal touches can make it hard for somebody else to envision actually living in your home. Another downfall of having too many personal photos, etc is that this can sometimes lead to the potential buyer becoming distracted from looking at the home itself which is what they are there to do. You want your house to stand out, not your great grandmother from two hundred years ago. Last but not least, if the weather supports it, have a few windows open. It will make the space seem much more open, friendly, and inviting.

It’s easy to accumulate a lot of stuff [also commonly referred to as crap] when living in a house. You are used to having your kitchen counters full of this, that, and the other. So what if you have three robes hanging in your bathroom? Well, this beloved stuff that we have sitting [or hanging] all over the place really only serves one purpose when your home is for sale–it all just makes everything seem smaller. Take away anything and everything that adds no visible appeal to your home when having it for sale. It’s amazing how much bigger your home will seem all of a sudden.

It’s easy to become lazy with your home when thinking about putting it up for sale–you aren’t planning on living there for much longer so why invest any more money or work into it now? Wrong. It’s almost embarrassing to say that we lived with our bedroom ceiling fan and light that didn’t work for months on end. We got used to not having it as an option [and apparently we aren’t afraid of the dark]. You know what instantly kills a good house vibe? When something doesn’t work. Spend the money, put in a little extra time, and repair the things that need repaired now. It will pay ten fold.

I mentioned killing a good house vibe in number three—the smell of a house is typically the first thing people will notice when entering a home. It’s also one of the things that a lot of people can’t look past. If your home doesn’t smell appealing to a potential home buyer, it is going to be ten times harder to get their mental state to a good place about your house which is where you want it to be. Don’t choose something that is over powering, just something light and refreshing. I’m drawn to a lemon scent because it is clean, airy, and bright.

One of the last places you think about when selling your home is your garage [and storage space]. This is a huge mistake. Just like people don’t want to see things laying all over the counter–they don’t want to see your rakes, hoses, and brooms all over your garage floor. You want your garage and storage spaces to also look and feel as big as possible. I am a firm believer that you can guess a lot about what the inside of somebody’s house will look like by what their garage looks like. Maybe I am crazy but maybe I am right. To help match our outsides to our insides [still talking about houses people], I purchased this Rubbermaid FastTrack system from Target this past weekend. I don’t think my husband has ever been more proud of what I have brought home from Target. He hung this sucker in less than 5 minutes and within 5 more minutes of that all of our crap stuff was in one little area, off the ground, and sittin’ pretty. As a heads up–you can purchase the Rubbermaid FastTrack 5 piece kit [pictured below] at Target now through May 24th for $28.99 [regularly $33.99]. If I remember correctly Father’s Day is right around the corner so stock up ladies. It’s the easiest way to dress up your mess. It’s also the easiest way to get a kiss from your man so there’s that.

And there we have it—5 simple yet highly effective things to do when selling your home [or just making it happier to live in]. Any tips you would like to add to the list? Leave them in the comments below, I’ll give you $1 from the proceeds of our home’s sale if and when that happens 😉

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Welcome to Living In Yellow! I’m Erin. This is a compilation of thoughts and things that make my “average” life a little bit more wonderful. Grab a glass of wine, sit back, relax, and stay awhile. At least that’s what I plan on doing.